Converter



(No ModeL) v Y.

C. W. ASTICKNEYI GONVERTBB.'

No. 517,939. Patented Apr. 1o, 1894.

UNITED STATES PATENT EEICE.

, CHARLES WADE sTICKNEY, CE BUTTE, MONTANA.

CONVERTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 517,939, aatedApriI 1o, 1894.

Application fledleptember 16, 1892. Serial No.446I1Z2. (No model.)

To al? whom it may concern:

Be It known that I, CHARLES WADE STICIQ NEY, a citizen of the United States, residing' at Butte, in the State of Montana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements In Copper-Converters, of which the following Is a specIiication, reference being had therein to theaccompanying drawings.

My Invention is a particular form of converter, used for converting -copper matte to pig copper, and also three attachments thereto made as improvements, to facilitate the handling of the converter and its lining.

The first invention consists in making the converter in twoparts, easily separabler from eachother, namely, the hood and the body, and 1n forming the body of a taper form, from the hood downward.

I The rst improvement consists in a metallIc llnIng to the body, made in sections, formlngfalse sides and bottom of the converter, easily separable from the body of the. converter.

The second improvement, consists in pins or catches extending through the metal of which the hood is made from the outside to' the inside, made adjustable,so as to be readily removed when the hood needs re-lining, the portion projecting inside, when in place, forming the catches for the lining.

The third improvement, consists in a device which I call clamp and wedge, for holding the hood to the body, so made as to allow an easy and rapid separation of the two parts.

These four devices though capable of being used separately with more or less efficiency, have but one object and mutually contribute to a single result, viz: the quick and easy removal of the quartz and clay lining of the converter, when it has become worn beyond' lining in place.

the refractory lining and false sides. Fig. 7. shows a horizontal section of the lower part of the converter on the line A. B. of Fig. 6, with the false metal lining and the refractory Fig. 8 shows a. modified construction of the lining catches.

rlhe construction is as follows:-The main body is made of three-sixteenths inch steel boiler plate and its internal form, which is the important part of the invention, is the frustum of a cone. The smaller end or bottom, has a diameter of four and one-half feet. The upper rim has a diameter of five and onehalf feet. The upper rim of the body has a heavy tlange riveted yaround the outside, which, in connection with a' similar ange on the hood, serves to connect the hood to the, V

body.

Slightly below the center of gravity of the whole converter and attached to the body externally on both sides are two trunnions upon which the converter swings, one of which has a hole, f, through it longitudinally, communieating in the usual manner through the wind passage g, with the wind chesth. The, four studs marked, t', areformed of cast iron vwith a iiange and riveted to the body externally, for convenience of. handling by crane.y The false bottom of the bodyis made of one-eighth steel boiler plate incircular form andin three sections like the head of a iiour barrel, j, lc, Z,

Fig. 2, and false sides are made of the same,

material, in sections, like, m, similar to the staves of a barrel, but having the upper width greater than the lower, and these are made of the same length as the internal depth of the converter body. The hood is pierced with holes, fn., n, ne., Fig. 1. A wrought iron pin, o, round at one end and having the other end, p, formed somewhat taper with a pointed head, is shown in Fig. 3. The two parts, o, and, 1o, are separated by a shoulder, q, and in the part, 0, there is a taper slot, I", and into this slot a wedge, sis made to tit, loosely. The part, o, iits the holes, n, and '-the shoulder, q, will not go through the hole. The part o, is passed through the hole from the inside of the hood until the shoulder, q, arrests it, and the slot, I", then being on the outside, receives thewedge, s, and thisis driven in until it holds the pin TOO tightly in place. The clamps are made as f shown in Figs. 4. and 5. A steel bar, about one inch square is bent in the form of an E, (15,) one arm having a lip, u. On the flange attached to the hood there is a small projection shown at QJ, Fig. 4. When the clamp is placed on the edge of the iianges, c and d, Fig. 1,the wed ge, w, is inserted between the clamp and the flange, and between the projections, o, on the flange, and u, on the clampand driven in, snug. As many of these clamps are used around the flange edges as are thought necessary to secure the hood to the body, say about six inches apart.

The working and purpose of these devices.

are as follows:-The converter is picked up by a steam crane and landed on the floor. The wed ges, fw, are driven out from the clamps, t, and these fall off. The hood, B, having the pins, o, in place, is lifted olf and turned over, concave side up. The inner surface of the converter body and both surfaces of the false bottom, j, lo, Z, and the false sides, m, may be polished with powdered graphite to reduce friction and make the sections easily detachable from the quartz and clay lining. The false bottom j, 7.a, Z, and the false sides, m, are now placed in position, sufficient in number and size to completely cover the inner surface of the body of the converter. The interior is then lined with the quartz and iireclay lining, in the usual way. The hood is also lined with the same material in its plastic con dition with the catches, p, projecting into the interior. The top of the wall of plastic lining of the body is sanded, or sprinkled with powdered graphite, to give an easy breakage line after the lining has been baked. The hood, B, is picked up by the crane, turned over and placed on the body, A. The clamps are placed around the flange edges and their wedges driven home, fastening the parts, A, and B, securely together. The converter is now picked up, placed on its carriage, rolled to place, and swung on its trunnions in the usual way.

My invention comes into play in about six hours, when the lining has become so eaten out, in places, as to require a renewal. The converter is landed on the floor, hot, and no time is lost in cooling it. The wedges, w, are driven out from the clamps, t, and the latter fall 0E. The hood, B, is picked up by the crane and lifted from the body, and placed on an iron frame Work about two feet high. The body, A, is seized by the crane turned bottom upward and then lifted an inch or two from the iron or'stone door, when Vthe hard baked lining together with the false sides and bottom, slide out. The body, A, is then sprayed with water for a few minutes and being of thin material, it does not retain the heat long. It is then given another set of false lining plates, immediately re-lined with plastic material, and is ready for use. If the hood also `needs re-lining, the wedges s, which hold the pins, o, are driven out and, with a sledge, the pins, o, are driven inward, breaking up the lining which falls in chunks through the frame upon the iron floor. The hood is then sprayed just sufficient to make the heat bearable by the workmen. Cold pins are then put in place, the lining done in the usual way and the hood is ready for use again.

The hollow frustum of hard baked lining dumped from the body, and internally red hot, and having the metal lining adhering to the outside, is broken up while hot,with much more ease than when cold. For this purpose the dumping is done in a small apartment made of boiler iron with a solid floor of stone covered with an iron plate, into which apartment the crane has landed the converter body and turned it upside down as before described. When the shell of the converter body is lifted out of this apartment, the sections ofmetal lining are jarred off with a Sledge and removed. The crane then elevates a large mass of solid iron and 1ets it drop on the lining after the manner of pile driving, and this is repeated, if necessary, to make the pieces small enough to handle. These pieces are then sprayed until sulficiently cold for handling.

My invention enables the lining to be removed and broken up while hot with great ease, and avoidsthe long delay and tedious hand labor heretofore required in cooling both converter and lining, and then'picking out the cold and almost adamantine mass, formed by the quartz and fireclay, hard baked and cemented by" metallic particles, which work into it, while melted, for several inches.

Nothing is new in the converter above described except the taper form, the false bottom and sides, the removable catches holding the hood lining, and the method of joining the hood to the body by clamps and wedges.

The form of the frustum of a pyramid of any number of sides, might be substituted for the frustum of a cone, also a modified cone or pyramid, similar to a coffee cup, with the same result, and as the equivalent. The false sides and bottom may be dispensed with, provided a substance is found which, when used to coat lthe interior of the body, will prevent the plastic lining from sticking to the body, after baking.

When the false sides are used they must be pierced with holes immediately in front of and corresponding to the tuyere holes in the shell of the converter, as shown at in Fig. 6.

I do not confine myself to the particular form of the catches described, nor to the method of securing themg--for instance, the part, p, may be made of any. convenient form and the part, o, extend through the hood shell and screw into the part, p, so that upon unscrewing all the pins, the whole hood 1ining may 'fall out together, with the catches still embedded in it, and the latterremoved by breaking up the lining.

Having described my invention, I claiml. A separable swinging converter having tuyere holes leading therein through its sides above the base, and having a form increas- IOO IIO

' upward, and provided with a loose false boting in its internal periphery from the base upward, and provided with false sides made in longitudinal sections and removable sub-l stantially as described.

2'. A separable swinging converter having tu yere holes leading therein through its sides above the base, and having a form increasing in its internal periphery fromthe base tom made in sections and removable, substantially as described.

3. A separable swinging converter, having tuyere holes leading therein through its sides above the base, and having a form increasing in its internal periphery from the base upward, and provided with a coating of nonadhesive material between the converter bod y and its refractory lining substantially as described.

4. In combination with aconverter, removable lining catches, projecting through the converter shell into the space occupied by the refractory lining material, substantially clamps, t, held in place by the wedges, w,and I the two projections, 'u on the flange and u ony the clamp, substantially as described.

6. In combination with a separable converter and its refractory lining, one or more breakage lines in said lining formed by nonadhesive vmaterial placed in said lining before baking, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I aftix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES WADE STICKNEY.

Witnesses:

G. I. STICKNEY, FRANK STEPHENS. 

